Must have set some sort of record for myself... out of Palmer northbound before 5:00 PM. (It's usually 9 PM or later, with arrival back in Glennallen by midnight or after.) The weather was gorgeous, with not a cloud in view anywhere, and the mountains still nicely snow-covered against the cobalt sky. This was just one of many stunning sights, and I had to stop for a photo before the sun got too low. Wish the brush and saplings weren't in the photo, but those things don't matter when you're seeing the scene from a moving vehicle.

Back when I was driving truck, on hot summer nights I would sometimes park right where your bike is parked and crawl in the sleeper for the night, as it was always cool there. Imagine having to wake up to a scene like that in the morning. Don't know how I put up with it.

Back when I was a skinny teenager, I dreamed of traveling by motorcycle. I saved my money from my job as a paperboy and bought myself a Goldwing. Summer of 1989 I quit my job and rode to Alaska. I'd like to think its the one exceptional thing I did as a young man. Oh, how I love Alaska. I still have a crazy dream of moving there someday.

Since I can't ride motorcycles in the winter, I engage in my favorite wintertime passion of skiing in the backcountry, as often as possible. Sometimes I even play hookey from work so I can enjoy fresh powder! Last weekend we skied down into Ship Creek Valley, which is accessed from the Arctic Valley Road, just a few miles outside of Anchorage. There's a lot of deep powder, which is physically draining to break trail through, but I love a good challenge! Luckily on this trip I was sneaky and left the trailhead about an hour after a group of my guy friends left, allowing them to have the privilege of breaking trail for us women.

The wind was blowing the snow off of the tops of the peaks and ridges.

Ahhh.... on days like this I feel like I have died and gone to heaven and I sure hate having to return to civilization.

Skookum Glacier is very big and visible from the Seward Highway near the Portage Glacier turnoff (between the turnoff and the ascent into Turnagain Pass). To access it in the winter you either ski or ride snowmachines up the Placer River a couple miles and then head towards the huge, stunning, glacial valley, lined by incredibly steep mountains. My friends and I ski back there as we enjoy the peace and quiet of skiing vs. machines, and I enjoy getting exercise. Here are a few photos of this awesome glacier. It's pretty cool (pun intended) getting up close and personal with blue ice that's hundreds of years old!

Avalanche debris.

The top/whole view of the above avalanche debris.

Skiing up into the valley, getting closer to the glacier. On days like this I feel like I'm getting a preview of heaven! Some of my friends climb up and ski down the huge mountains back here. I think they're nuts, but they're confident and excellent skiers.

Eating lunch at the foot of the glacier. The blue wall of ice in the background is actually quite tall.

I skied to this glacier a couple weeks before this photo was taken and the chunks and debris had broken off since that trip. This is definitely an active glacier.